Effect Of Gas Channel/Rib Width In Solid Oxide Fuel Cells

Using the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) technique, we performed a numerical simulation in anode-supported solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC). The effect of gas channel/rib width on the cell performance and temperature uniformity was investigated in planar type SOFC. The open source CFD toolbox, OpenFOAM, was used as a numerical analysis tool. As a result, the effect of gas channel/rib width on the cell performance and temperature uniformity was not significant if the oxygen depletion is not occurring. On the other hand, the usage of a wide rib and operation at high current density may lead to performance degradation due to oxygen depletion.